Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.67.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 6th.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST opened at $109.56 on Friday. Casella Waste Systems has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $121.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 498.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $114.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.37.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The business had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $662,879.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 150,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,888,083.74. This represents a 3.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Argent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter valued at $639,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $898,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 2nd quarter worth about $246,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 67,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,823,000 after purchasing an additional 3,942 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.